THE HANGOVER REPORT – 600 Highwaymen’s A THOUSAND WAYS (PART 2): A profoundly moving one-on-one, in-person encounter at the Public

The Public Theater presents 600 Highwaymen’s production of “A Thousand Ways (Part 2): An Encounter” (Photo by Maria Baranova).

This afternoon marked my first time stepping back into the Public Theater’s Lafayette Street home base in more than a year. The occasion? – to attend 600 Highwaymen’s profound and moving in-person production of A Thousand Ways (Part 2): An Encounter. Given the show’s rigorous safety measures and its exceedingly small scale, the work is a smart choice for the iconic downtown theater company’s foray back to live and in-person performances. As such, no obvious fanfare accompanied my entrance into the familiar lobby, but the act got me emotional nonetheless.

I was a big admirer of the series’ first part, which takes the form of a one-on-one telephone call with a complete stranger (Part 1, which I highly recommend you partake in, is also being presented by the Public this summer). The second part takes this setup one step further by physically manifesting that encounter. Like Part 1, you’re instructed to conduct a gently scripted conversation with your “co-star”, who now sits across from you at a lone table on the stage of one of the Public’s empty auditoriums (for safety measures, you’re separated from each other by a large sheet of plexiglass).

Although the work may not be ideally suited for those of you who tend to shy away from interactive shows, theatergoers who are willing to immerse themselves will likely find A Thousand Ways (Part 2) ingenious and stealthily profound. In essence, it gorgeously distills theater into its key elements – the act of listening and active engagement, particularly with respect to using one’s imagination to craft a narrative. And after more than a year of isolation, the opportunity to once again physically connect and share the experience in such an intimate manner moved me greatly.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

A THOUSAND WAYS (PART 2): AN ENCOUNTER
Immersive theater / In-person / Off-Broadway
600 Highwaymen / The Public Theater
Approximately 1 hour (without an intermission)
Through August 15

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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